


Into the Arms of Kodály

by vulturer



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Classical Music, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-25
Updated: 2011-07-25
Packaged: 2017-10-21 18:05:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/228074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vulturer/pseuds/vulturer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Kanaya finally meet for their first duet rehearsal together and it is much more intense than they anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Arms of Kodály

**Author's Note:**

> I posted [this request](http://homesmut.livejournal.com/8284.html?thread=12079708#t12079708) a while ago and got [this awesome headcanon](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_loc64yH5zm1qj6e6go1_500.png) in reply. I thought, "Man, hope somebody thinks of something neat!" and then kind of forgot about it. Then, yesterday, it hit me: Rose+Kanaya=violin+cello, oh my god, IT'S PERFECT.
> 
> And then this happened, whoops! They are playing the first six minutes of [this beautiful Zoltán Kodály piece](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FglnuP1jpRY), times included for reference. I don't really know how to recommend reading the fic... Maybe listen first, then read? Ehh, just go for it! Haha.
> 
> Also, I kind of like the idea of this being a side-story to "Roommate." I think it will be! I had a lot of fun writing it; it was a great personal challenge, and a nice break from silliness, heh. Hope you enjoy it!

  
**  
Into the Arms of Kodály   
**   


  


____________________________________________________

  


In just half an hour, you would rehearse together for the very first time.

You had been practicing your half of the duet for weeks and you were starting to get very impatient without the other part. The competition was looming, just a few weeks away, and you _needed_ to hear the other half in tandem with yours. You didn't want to wait for your instructor to set up a practice date on their terms, so you had simply contacted the cellist on your own.

Frankly, you didn't mind having an excuse to spend time with Kanaya Maryam. She was a lovely person on her own, introduced to you by your respective instructors, and the friendship that blossomed was immediate. A few lunch dates here and there, many late-night orchestra concerts, and a healthy smattering of intelligent (and somewhat crafty) conversations had solidified the bond between you two quite wonderfully. However, you had never played music together. Doing so was a very personal and important thing, and it could not be rushed. But now, you felt the need upon you, and you had both agreed to meet in one of the practice rooms on campus when nobody else was around.

She arrived ten minutes early as you tuned your violin, walking gracefully even with the large case on her back and a caddy with some drinks in her hands.

"Hello," she greeted fluidly and immediately went to deposit her things, pulling over a chair and a music stand.

"How are you this fine, blustery evening?"

"Quite well, thank you," she replied with a smile and walked over to where you were standing with a to-go cup of steaming coffee, which you accepted with an appreciative smile. "A bit cold, I suppose. And you?"

"Oh, the icy wind has wreaked terrible havoc on my poor, fragile self, but... Other than that, I'm fine. Thank you," you narrated with a twinkle in your eye before taking a sip of the delicious, warming liquid. "Though, I'm quite ready to rehearse. The wait has been torturous."

"I agree," she replied, and pulled off her coat and scarf. "The recital is not far off."

"No," you replied. "It most certainly is not."

You watched her absently as she sat down in the chair, adjusted the long skirt around her legs, and slid the arms of her loose sweater up to her elbows. She constantly surprised you at how... how elegant she was. Compared to other students that you knew, she was... well, incomparable. So composed and kind. You felt very fortunate to have gotten a recital partner that wasn't egotistical or lazy. It made things much more pleasurable.

"What do you think of the piece?" she asked as she pulled out her wooden instrument to fiddle with, tucking some dark brown hair behind her ear.

"I think it's quite strong. Certainly very emotional," you replied, playing a note for her to match. She nodded and twisted the pegs slightly.

"Yes, I agree."

"Just as long as we play it right," you said with a smirk. She chuckled in return.

"True."

"Shall we do a run-through of the whole thing? Test our mettle."

She looked up at you, eyebrows raised slightly, lips parted just barely. You smiled mischievously and drew out another note. A small moment hung in the air and then you heard a soft and amused, "All right."

"Excellent."

Once you were both in tune, sheet music in place, eyes locked... it began.

0:00

The piece started with a burst of energy, and after the leading notes were struck by Kanaya's bow, you followed her movements with a careful touch. After the start, your gazes slipped to the sheet music, following it methodically, systematically. It was a brave and somewhat foolhardy guessing game, because it was full of uncertainty. _How did the other play? Did she know what I was going to do next? How well had she learned the music?_

Your eyes followed the measures, one by one, your arm moving to strike the notes fluidly. The cello across from you played appropriately quietly, harmonic, predictable. You lead the song and she followed without trouble. Both instruments abided the instructions well, correct to tempo, following the little stylistic notes above the staffs logically. The notes made sense, followed an order, and soon became increasingly bland. It was to be expected, but it was still somewhat discouraging. You couldn't feel anything with this kind of playing.

0:35

Apparently neither could Kanaya, because she soon started to play a little delayed, more elongated, testing the waters. You flicked your eyes up from your sheet music and saw her looking at you apprehensively, mouth pursed somewhat. Keeping your eyes locked on hers, you matched her, leaning your body into the stretched notes, beckoning her to _keep going, further._ She relaxed then, eyes fluttering briefly as she swung her arm, pulling back, and the whole thing shifted a little.

It became a gentle tug of war, pushing and pulling between your bows, as if they were forming a flexible connection, _back and forth, to and fro,_ and then they met in a fleeting resonance before a short pause.

1:05

Your eyes didn't leave hers this time as you tiptoed back in, your strings more emotive, more discursive this time, and she plucked hers softly before answering your expression with a voice of her own. The awkwardness became a fluent, graceful dance between the two of you and the footwork felt so much better. It worked this time as you spun around each other, equal in weight. You were dancers in fluttering dresses and light feet, hands just barely touching shoulders and waists, a cool breeze ruffling your hair. You twirled her around, gentle at first, then faster, and faster, _and faster and faster._

 _And then you were spinning and twirling and the room was a blur, you were whirling whirling whirling so fast..._

And you broke apart from each other with surprised laughter, tension dissipating like a breath in the wind, eyes bright and cheeks pink. You shouted a triumphant, breathless, "Yes!" and jumped right back into the uplifting fray, your limbs loose and your heart beating.

1:49

The circling dance morphed into a light-footed run through a forest, a stop and go match, a chase in which neither of you could catch each other. You danced and pounced at each other's heels, running short-of-breath around each other, through trees and wind and sky. It was playful at first, then fast and a little sad as you lost sight of each other until you caught a glimpse of a figure, and you were running and running and running until you were at the edge of a tall cliff, and then...

 _Oh._

Something frightening rushed up in your chest. The lightheartedness became something overwhelming as you tripped over her notes, striking panicked ones of your own, and your heart was suddenly in your throat and you felt dizzy and you were standing at the rim of the canyon, she thrust you to the edge and you were staring down into it and you were going to fall, _you were going to fall!_

2:13

"Stop!" you choked and you couldn't breathe, where... the air, it had disappeared from the room, and... _"Stop, stop, stop, stop..."_

"Rose?"

"I can't, I—" and you doubled over, your arms resting on your thighs, panting for breath. You stared wide-eyed at your legs, not registering the color or texture of the slim-cut corduroy because everything was completely blown out of focus. _"Fuck."_

You didn't understand what was happening. Where did that even come from? You had never felt like this before, even when you played your most favorite pieces. They didn't compare to this rush, this vibrating intensity; they couldn't measure up to the way the sounds were torquing your brain like a thin branch in a hurricane.

The stealer of your breath was silent, staring at you worriedly, her own breathing just a touch labored. There was panic in this room; a horrible monster, disguised initially as lighthearted play, had been unchained and it threatened to devour you both, teeth sharp, drooling hungrily. You were both staring into its black maw and its breath smelled _so decadent._

2:17

You heard a faint and coaxing sound ooze from Kanaya's instrument and you felt black tar bubble up in your throat, _that temptress. That foul siren, she was drawing you back._ You answered her seductive call with an angry jerk of your arm, she wrenched back, you each balled your fists in the other's collar and spit in each other's faces, before shoving violently apart.

2:36

The monster's jaw had locked around you. It was done, the piece transformed into something hideous, you were being consumed, there was no turning back. You circled her like a feral cat, she hissed, hair standing tall on the back of your necks. They were equal, the insults you threw at each other, and quiet anger settled like a crimson fog. After baring your teeth at each other, spittle dripping from your tongues, she...

...started to slow down, to patronize you, to say _wait stop this is silly._

3:06

You sarcastically pulled your bow, _I'll show you what's silly,_ and she reared back, plucking angrily, eyes narrowed as you mocked her which got you a frustrated and remonstrative reply.

Which you refused, plucking even louder than she had.

She fought back as you quickened your tempo, fire building up within both of you, you trembled, crazed, and she started to sound terrified. The way you played at each other was now a rapidly descending downward spiral, the very air quivering with energy. It was loud, and louder, _and louder and..._

 _The dance plummeted into chaos._

3:45

You heard a scream but you couldn't tell if it was your violin, Kanaya's frantic bow, or if the noise had been ripped straight from your own throat. The guttural, ear-piercing sound shredded every thought, every... it was horrible and beautiful and it was there, you didn't know where it was coming from, it was _everywhere, it was everything, it was..._ And Kanaya's lovely, euphonic, dulcet voice burst forth in a shuddering cry, she was answering, it must have been you that shrieked, it was you that had pleaded with her not to shred your chest so viciously with those delicate and painted nails and she was calling back _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry Rose, I can't stop, I'm so sorry, I can't._

4:09

You hated her. You hated her with every tendinous fiber, every cell that shivered with your growling, and you wanted to smash your instrument on the ground and strangle her, steal the air within her lungs to stop this orgasmic torture, this horrific bliss. It was _undending,_ drawn and prolonged as if every atom of your body was being yanked out, one by one, pulled on an invisible string that stretched for _light-years,_ a single particle thick, glistening with your very essence. She grasped your pounding heart in her fingers and it threatened to burst under the pressure.

4:19

Every streak of her bow was a sword in your stomach, twisting and sliding, in and out, and she _knew_ it she _saw your body convulse_ and she _jerked her arm back and the blade plunged through your spine, that horrid vile creature she was doing this on purpose._ Your strings were begging, mouth open in shock, as she _gored you with those panicked sounds, over and over, your dark blood dripping onto the floor..._

4:31

You pushed and she shoved, notes tearing at each other's hair and clothes, snarling and pleading, vision swimming with delirium. You tried to fend her off, to stumble away from her frenzied thrusts, but _you couldn't, it was unavoidable, every step you took pushed you right into the metal's path,_ and you could hear her groan when she hit her mark, _you could feel her sightless rage and terror._ Your flesh was hacked from your bones and you swiped your claws at her, trying desperately to rend as much as you possibly could before she damaged you beyond repair and magmatic fright _flooded_ through your veins, to the tips of your fingers and toes, searing your lungs black. Your piercing, furious cry then shattered the foundations of the practice room, strings howling _why why why would you do this to me, why would you betray me like this, how could you_ and she tried to communicate, tried to explain but you were past the point of no return, you were inconsolable, you were staring right into the hollow eyes of Death himself, you were... and you were fading away and... all you could muster... was one last...

...breath...

And you pulled your arm away, your spine arching back as the blade slid quickly out and you stared at the ceiling, lifeless, your very self torn and fragmented, your body still and withholding breath and her strings wept.

5:21

They cradled you in trembling arms, moaning _no no no, come back, please, don't go, please please please_ and you said nothing back, not even a whisper and they cried _NO, NO, WHY DID THIS HAPPEN, this isn't fair, please, please, come back to me, I'm so sorry, I..._

6:05

And there was silence then. Neither of you could continue. It was too much.

You looked over at her at long last and there were tears trickling from her beautiful eyes, those jade green irises, _so soft and kind and wondrous,_ and you felt warm drops spilling down your own flushed cheeks. When she met your gaze, her silence was broken by a gasping breath, her bow clattered to the ground, and a slender hand shot up to cover her open mouth.

This... this was...

You lay your violin and bow on the ground and rushed over to her, falling to your knees before you kissed her, _you kissed her tears away,_ you kissed her like she was the _only thing that would bring you back to life_ after being slain by such a _euphonious monstrosity._ She sobbed and choked desperately for air as your lips touched hers and you felt her shoulders shake. You broke away, only for a moment, to pull her instrument away from her trembling hands before she let it go, and then you were back, cradling her neck in your fingers, pressing your forehead to hers.

"Rose, Rose, Rose..." she chanted, looking terrified and marvelous. "What... what just..."

"I know, Kanaya," you breathed softly, more droplets pooling on your eyelids. "I know. I know."

"Oh my god..."

"I know," and you touched your lips back to hers, her lipstick faint and sweet. She breathed you in deeply, chest fluttering, hands reaching forward to clench your shoulders, and neither of you could even hope to form a coherent thought. You felt a rush of desperation and in the back of your mind, you remembered wanting to kill her, and you couldn't for the life of you figure out _why... How could you think such a thing, why would you ever wish for harm to befall such a flawless and powerful creature._ She was a giver of life, and somehow, _for some reason,_ she had descended from her shining throne and bestowed such a precious thing upon you.

"You are a beautiful cellist," you whispered, feeling as though you had lived an entire life in six minutes time.

"You are..." she breathed and you could see the words swimming in her eyes _(terrifying, monstrous, infernal),_ churning underneath the surface... until her anguish broke with a small smile, almost disbelieving at first, that quickly spreading into breathtaking radiance.

"You are beautiful."


End file.
